Re: Little Moments Between Steptember and November, Meetings and Endings Part 2 IC Thread 31

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

"It would be beneficial for you to learn how to use and handle a weapon safely, even if for no other reason than to know what to do in case you have to handle one. Laser tag and paintball would hopefully help you learn how to aim somewhat."

Bruce nodded his agreement to that.
"Yes it is important that the kid can defend himself if his magick fails or he is unable to use it for some reason."

"It would also be beneficial to learn how to use my magick in a combat scenario." Serge argued. "I've had a pretty lax time with my magick. Had all the time in the world to cast stuff. Never needed to use it in a stressful environment. This could make for a good experience in that regard."

"Untrue, mental ars are quite as powerful as any other, in the right hands. A clever mage can use such to their advantage. However, it depends on the venue and I do agree we could discuss ways to level the playing field somewhat."

"Ahhh, if only I was clever." Serge said with a sigh. "But I could certainly learn to be clever. If magick was allowed in this painball battle.

"Serge the point is not ti win, it is to have fun, and it sounds like you need to learn to do things without magick as well."
Bruce said with a sigh.

"Winning is fun." Serge said with a shrug. "Plus I just wanna see what I can do. I've never had a chance like this. To use my magick unhindered in a real combat environment. I wanna see what I can do. It would be a shame if I got into a real life or death fight and had no idea how to use my magick to defend myself."

"Remember you can not do that without prior consent Serge we had a little talk about this when you made us all see the bees in the Node room, you can not force you illusions on others without their consent."
Bruce said sternly as he regarded the younger mage.

"Yeah I know." Serge said with a sigh, clearly not a fan of that rule. "Trust me. If I break the law of consent the Cult of Ecstasy will fuck me up. They take that stuff serious. Especially if the word 'consent' is involved."

"Good one, no doubt you'll beat me, I'm not fit to run anywhere for a while unless there really is a dragon chasing me."

"Hold up. I'm arranging that." Serge said, furiously drawing something in his notepad.

"As I told Colin, no making jokes about flaming Flambeau or I might be inclined to be offended. Did you at least catch my good side?"

"You looked beautiful. Trust me." Serge said with a grin.

"Did she like the picture?"

"She loved the picture." Serge said with a smile. "It helped keep her mind off things and reminded her of all the friends she had in the chantry.

"Your rooms sound better secured than mine do, perhaps I should have you work on some for ours..."

"I haven't made it, yet. But now I really want too...."

[Going to the Library]

"You mentioned flower pots falling and hitting them in the head, which is quite often fatal or them falling down a manhole into the sewer which will at least lead to severe injuries and when your opponent's gun fails in a fight you take the chance and you shoot them in the head."
Kyle said and he shook his head.
"What you mention now though have nothing to do with comic book logic, it is straight up manipulating luck, I might be able to do that, but it would be practical and not hilarious."

"And you mentioned teleporting people high up and watching them fall to their doom quite eagerly." Serge said with a shrug, not really making a point with that statement.

"And whether you want to call it luck manipulation, pulling the strands of karma, or enforcing a certain pattern on the world it's all the same thing. I just happen to like calling it cartoon logic. Enforce the rules hidden deep within reality that gave inspiration to cartoons. Where the funniest outcome is the most probable to happen. Where the least probably thing becomes the most probable."

"Reality can be changed or so I hear, but reality do not work as in comic books in general and I do not think it should be changed into that either."
The young mage protested.

"Really now? Reality doesn't have a general way it works. It works differently for everybody." Serge said with a raised eyebrow. "Well I'm still gonna try. And you'll see. It'll be amazing."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Cabal Meeting]

"It would also be beneficial to learn how to use my magick in a combat scenario." Serge argued. "I've had a pretty lax time with my magick. Had all the time in the world to cast stuff. Never needed to use it in a stressful environment. This could make for a good experience in that regard."

"And when you have learned how to handle yourself in a fight without magick you can learn how to do so with magick."
Bruce declared.

"Ahhh, if only I was clever." Serge said with a sigh. "But I could certainly learn to be clever. If magick was allowed in this painball battle.

"Imagine how claver you could be if you first learned how to fight without it, so that it is not your only tool."
The Orphan commented.

"Winning is fun." Serge said with a shrug. "Plus I just wanna see what I can do. I've never had a chance like this. To use my magick unhindered in a real combat environment. I wanna see what I can do. It would be a shame if I got into a real life or death fight and had no idea how to use my magick to defend myself."

"Winning is fun, but if winning is the only thing you care about then you loose the point."
Bruce said sternly.
"Also it will not be a real combat situation it will be a game with friends so no you can not use your magick unhindered, would you like it if the rest us did so and shot one another with enchanted bullets and friend one another with primal fire?"
He continued.
"Well nor would we like for you to mess with our heads during such a game, even if we used magick it would be restricted to harmless effects and also a game like this could never be seen as the same as actual combat though it can work as good training."

"Yeah I know." Serge said with a sigh, clearly not a fan of that rule. "Trust me. If I break the law of consent the Cult of Ecstasy will fuck me up. They take that stuff serious. Especially if the word 'consent' is involved."

"Good!"
Bruce said with a grunt.

[Going to the Library]

"And you mentioned teleporting people high up and watching them fall to their doom quite eagerly." Serge said with a shrug, not really making a point with that statement.

"I did and if I had to in order to defend myself or the lives of my family and friends, if I had the skills to do so I would, I would kill, te difference is that you wanted it all to be hilarious which is very different thing."
Kyle commented.

"And whether you want to call it luck manipulation, pulling the strands of karma, or enforcing a certain pattern on the world it's all the same thing. I just happen to like calling it cartoon logic. Enforce the rules hidden deep within reality that gave inspiration to cartoons. Where the funniest outcome is the most probable to happen. Where the least probably thing becomes the most probable."

"I think that is the problem I have with your idea Serge, what is funny in a cartoon, is not always funny in real life. Imagine the common trope of you hearing something heavy falling and then a cat screaming, it is hilarious in a cartoon because you know no one is really getting hurt, but when an actual cat is getting mauled by something heavy that is not fun, trust me as someone who have lost control of his dark nature and harme animals when I got to my senses it was not fun. The same the bad guy in a cartoon getting into all sort of misfortune that is quite hilarious, because it is not real, but when it happens to a man with a name, with hopes and dreams, family and friends then it is not funny. It is thr same that I love horror movies, I can not get enough of seeing crazy killers run after their victims with chainsaws an monsters ripping into their victims because it is not real, it is just acting, but when things like that really happens then I do not like it for then it is real, it happens to real people, with real feelings and then it is very different."
The young mage said with a sigh.
"Would it still be funny when a man have gotten some cartoon style misfortune and he is screaming in pain in the street while his guts and his life pour out of him?"
The young widderslainte asked as he looked into your eyes.

"Really now? Reality doesn't have a general way it works. It works differently for everybody." Serge said with a raised eyebrow. "Well I'm still gonna try. And you'll see. It'll be amazing."

"A little differently but generally we see the same reality."
Kyle protested then he sigh and shook his head.
"I hope not Serge for I fear that if you got your rote working you might never recover from the consequences of it."
He added sadly.

[Warpmind]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"Your still learning?" Serge said sounding surprised. "Huh, I figured you already knew how to fly those things. You seem to know a lot about them."

Colin smiled wryly, "I have memories of twenty years of flying them, but those memories are from a vision of the future, twenty years from now. I am... adequately confident I could take the girl out for short trips - Chicago and back, that sort of thing - but I haven't actually had my first Umbral flight lesson yet. It's not too dissimilar to operating a mundane aircraft in terms of controls, but the handling is quite different."

"It would be beneficial for you to learn how to use and handle a weapon safely, even if for no other reason than to know what to do in case you have to handle one. Laser tag and paintball would hopefully help you learn how to aim somewhat."

Bruce nodded his agreement to that.
"Yes it is important that the kid can defend himself if his magick fails or he is unable to use it for some reason."

"It would also be beneficial to learn how to use my magick in a combat scenario." Serge argued. "I've had a pretty lax time with my magick. Had all the time in the world to cast stuff. Never needed to use it in a stressful environment. This could make for a good experience in that regard."

"And when you have learned how to handle yourself in a fight without magick you can learn how to do so with magick."
Bruce declared.

Colin nodded, "You must learn to crawl before you can learn to walk, and to walk before you can run... If you start out with the most dangerous weaponry, you're more likely to get yourself and your teammates hurt or killed than the enemy. Think of it like a good video game tutorial - you get a few minutes to familiarize yourself with moving properly, then you get to try some harmless target practice, and then you get to test your skills against things that fight back... This is no 8-bit era platformer where the cartridge has no space for a tutorial."

"It depends really, if we are doing paintball then we can be far into the woods and we can cast as much magick as we please, but if we are doing lazer tag then we will be in a room playing with sleepers then that is not a good idea."
Bruce commented.

He nodded, "Actually, if we're in a room with sleepers, that would make an excellent opportunity to be subtle in our Arts, but no, it would not be a good idea, and more importantly, it would not be fair."

"Well the goal should probably be to get as even teams as possible as that is what will be the most fun."
Bruce said.

He nodded, "I believe it's just Miss Bouchard and myself who have reasonably good mundane tactical training in this Cabal? Sorry, Adley, but much as House Flambeau is respected for battle prowess, 'mundane tactical training' does not seem to be a major focus of your House."

"I'd rather have magick not be prohibited. Because I'd absolutely worthless if it was." Serge said looking worried. "I'd stand no chance without magick. Granted I'd stand no chance if everyone was allowed to use magick. How about this. Let's compromise and say only I'm allowed to use magick. It's not like it'll make me that much more powerful, especially against several military and combat trained people."

"Untrue, mental ars are quite as powerful as any other, in the right hands. A clever mage can use such to their advantage. However, it depends on the venue and I do agree we could discuss ways to level the playing field somewhat."

"Ahhh, if only I was clever." Serge said with a sigh. "But I could certainly learn to be clever. If magick was allowed in this painball battle.

"Imagine how claver you could be if you first learned how to fight without it, so that it is not your only tool."
The Orphan commented.

He smiled wryly, "If you start using mental arts to give yourself an unfair advantage, I'm afraid you might find yourself on the receiving end of some rather elaborate streaks of bad luck..."

"Serge the point is not ti win, it is to have fun, and it sounds like you need to learn to do things without magick as well."
Bruce said with a sigh.

"Winning is fun." Serge said with a shrug. "Plus I just wanna see what I can do. I've never had a chance like this. To use my magick unhindered in a real combat environment. I wanna see what I can do. It would be a shame if I got into a real life or death fight and had no idea how to use my magick to defend myself."

"Winning is fun, but if winning is the only thing you care about then you loose the point."
Bruce said sternly.
"Also it will not be a real combat situation it will be a game with friends so no you can not use your magick unhindered, would you like it if the rest us did so and shot one another with enchanted bullets and friend one another with primal fire?"
He continued.
"Well nor would we like for you to mess with our heads during such a game, even if we used magick it would be restricted to harmless effects and also a game like this could never be seen as the same as actual combat though it can work as good training."

He nodded, "Winning, if you know you haven't really earned it, tends to have a really sour and bitter aftertaste. If you want to try for a magical duel, I'm sure we could arrange some sparring matches around the Chantry. In fact, I should take that suggestion to the Chief, see if he'd be keen on the idea to arrange training in various dueling forms on the premises."

"As I told Colin, no making jokes about flaming Flambeau or I might be inclined to be offended. Did you at least catch my good side?"

"You looked beautiful. Trust me." Serge said with a grin.

He arched an eyebrow, "Somehow, I don't think looking beautiful was Adley's chief concern..."

"Good one, no doubt you'll beat me, I'm not fit to run anywhere for a while unless there really is a dragon chasing me."

"Hold up. I'm arranging that." Serge said, furiously drawing something in his notepad.

He raised both eyebrows, then started to chuckle, "Please don't, it won't be good for his health, and then the Chief won't be good for your health..."

"Did she like the picture?"

"She loved the picture." Serge said with a smile. "It helped keep her mind off things and reminded her of all the friends she had in the chantry.

He smiled, "Well, that's something, at least..."

"Nothing would change for Beatrice. The picture would only change when you guys look at it." Serge said with a grin.

"Remember you can not do that without prior consent Serge we had a little talk about this when you made us all see the bees in the Node room, you can not force you illusions on others without their consent."
Bruce said sternly as he regarded the younger mage.

"Yeah I know." Serge said with a sigh, clearly not a fan of that rule. "Trust me. If I break the law of consent the Cult of Ecstasy will fuck me up. They take that stuff serious. Especially if the word 'consent' is involved."

"Good!"
Bruce said with a grunt.

He nodded, "Quite; good."

"Your rooms sound better secured than mine do, perhaps I should have you work on some for ours..."

"I haven't made it, yet. But now I really want too...."

He pondered, "Perhaps I ought to throw up some proper defenses, too... Actually, Anna's quite clever with that, I should ask her to help me with that. Wouldn't it be impractical if someone entered uninvited, and then couldn't use magic for a week?"

[Abandoned Junkyard]

"Literary? So your girlfriend can do magick with computers?"
The girl said her eyes wide.
"O...ok that do sound practical, I would really like to just sell the necklace, I need food more than I need bling."

He nodded, "I'll have her look into it, just in case. Odds are there's no police record concerning it, though, so it'll be perfectly safe."

"I guess that there is always a price, but shit, that is harsh, have you ever been punished by reality."
The young girl asked.
"Do not such things make you scared of using magick?"

He smiled thinly, "I've had a few headaches over the years, but I've not done much that was obviously impossible. Besides, there's a decent chance my tombstone will bear the epitaph 'It was worth it!' or something to that effect - it would take something truly massive and outrageous to get oneself erased, though, perhaps something to the tune of turning the continental United States into a huge turtle, carrying the nation on its back..."

"It is worth it but I would still prefer not to see you injured and besides Freddy would be most displeased if you where."
Narim replied.

He smiled, "This is true - I'm not too worried, though. We should have the element of surprise, and superior numbers, tactics and firepower. And with a little luck, the support of the Genius Loci here. If we're really lucky, a surprising sunrise could give us a helping hand, too."

"I have seen the other one with what I can not touch inside, he makes things, his pressence do not displease me."
The spirit said.
"I have also seen the ones with the aspect inside of them, they come in here and show no respect for my Domain."

He nodded, "The hungry ones who feed on your people must be stopped; they endanger everyone with their indiscretion."

"I will do so, those that live here are part of my Domain they are the lost and discarded, like the machines here they are part of what I am."
The large spirit agreed.

He nodded, "I thank you."

"Anything to add to my domain is a suitable offering, broken machines, bits of metal, things that make my gran domain grow stronger."
The Umbrood declared.
"Such things please me, it is what I am."

He nodded, "Then what prayer may I teach her, that you may gift her the senses to see and hear you?"

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

'True... but Morrowind has one advantage; doesn't use auto-leveller lists. Meaning those level 40 vampires are waiting for you on day 1, as well as the stuff in the stores. Bit annoying when the shit you find for sale you've already got.'

Serge's Post:

'So... you're a believer in the "right to be completely stupid", yes? How about when it hurts someone else? Like if some fundie refuses to get medical treatment for their kid just because they think praying will cure them instead?'

[RI Roadtrip]

Adley's Post:

'Heh...' the large woman commented, drumming her fingers on the steering-wheel. 'Not been back home for years. And...' a pause, as though debating how much to say 'I kinda left by pulling a vanishing act.'

[Chantry]

Anja's Post:

'Should have a chance to do a quick recon on the area before, but I'll do a quick map just in case.' Nicole replied, pulling a pen from her pocket and starting to search for a bit of paper. 'As for bystanders... between seven and ten. It's been organised so they'll be right out the back and out of the way. So no issues on that front... I hope.'

Anja's Post:

'If you can do fire at range, that would be great.' Nicole replied to Hildegard, giving a little smile. 'You know how these work; their advantages are at close-quarters. So we're trying to avoid doing that. Hmm... any chance you could do a targeted burst at a pile of burnables like oil?'

'Okay, sort out between the pair of you who'd be better with a rifle and come to my place to pick it up. Meet back here in five? Gives you a chance to use the bathroom or p'haps grab a coat, 'cos we don't have a set time on when the targets are arriving. Shit... anyone got a bit of paper?'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

He nodded, "Actually, if we're in a room with sleepers, that would make an excellent opportunity to be subtle in our Arts, but no, it would not be a good idea, and more importantly, it would not be fair."

"It would be a good way to learn subtlety yes but it would also be a very dangerous idea."
Bruce said and frowned.

He nodded, "I believe it's just Miss Bouchard and myself who have reasonably good mundane tactical training in this Cabal? Sorry, Adley, but much as House Flambeau is respected for battle prowess, 'mundane tactical training' does not seem to be a major focus of your House."

Bruce nodded at that.
"I can fire a gun and hold my ground in a fight but I have no official training."
He agreed.

(OOC: While Adley's training have had a focus on magick he have also learned how to handle a gun and things like thinking tactically, and working with others on a battlefield so not all of his training have been centered around magick. Jeffry have even tried to teach him a bit of how to use a sword.)

[Abandoned Junkyard]

He nodded, "I'll have her look into it, just in case. Odds are there's no police record concerning it, though, so it'll be perfectly safe."

"Ok thank you."
The girl said though she still seamed skeptical.

He smiled thinly, "I've had a few headaches over the years, but I've not done much that was obviously impossible. Besides, there's a decent chance my tombstone will bear the epitaph 'It was worth it!' or something to that effect - it would take something truly massive and outrageous to get oneself erased, though, perhaps something to the tune of turning the continental United States into a huge turtle, carrying the nation on its back..."

The blond girl smiled a little at that and nodded.
"Well I guess some things are worth it but I would prefer to survive. So you can use magick as you wish when you are not doing something impossible?"
She asked.
"Without getting hurt."

He smiled, "This is true - I'm not too worried, though. We should have the element of surprise, and superior numbers, tactics and firepower. And with a little luck, the support of the Genius Loci here. If we're really lucky, a surprising sunrise could give us a helping hand, too."

"Very well, the best of luck to you then Mr Wainwright."
The Virtual Adept Master said.

He nodded, "The hungry ones who feed on your people must be stopped; they endanger everyone with their indiscretion."

"Yes they harm my Domain, this can not be tolerated."
The huge Umbrood agreed.

He nodded, "Then what prayer may I teach her, that you may gift her the senses to see and hear you?"

"Tell her to speak words to this place, this location, to the discarded and unloved and I will hear her and I will give her the ability to see and hear me."
The Umbrood said.

[Chantry]

'Should have a chance to do a quick recon on the area before, but I'll do a quick map just in case.' Nicole replied, pulling a pen from her pocket and starting to search for a bit of paper. 'As for bystanders... between seven and ten. It's been organised so they'll be right out the back and out of the way. So no issues on that front... I hope.'

"Master Sharaya sent some pictures from overhead of the location, and got printed copies to the Chief."
Fran said and she handed you her phone which had the pictures Colin had taken on them.
"This might help with your map."
Jon nodded as well.
"So we are free to use magick, that will make this allot easier."

'If you can do fire at range, that would be great.' Nicole replied to Hildegard, giving a little smile. 'You know how these work; their advantages are at close-quarters. So we're trying to avoid doing that. Hmm... any chance you could do a targeted burst at a pile of burnables like oil?'

"Yes, God willing I can perform such a feat."
The Chorister said then her eyes darkened.
"Yes I know the strengths of these creatures, their powers are Static but that do not mean they are not dangerous."

Okay, sort out between the pair of you who'd be better with a rifle and come to my place to pick it up. Meet back here in five? Gives you a chance to use the bathroom or p'haps grab a coat, 'cos we don't have a set time on when the targets are arriving. Shit... anyone got a bit of paper?'

The others nodded and Fran handed you a little, black notebook with lace from her purse.
"Will this do?"
She asked you.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Chantry]

Anja's Post:

'Would have been an idea to do print-outs for everyone. Thanks.' taking the bit of paper from Fran, using the wall as support as she started to do a quick sketch of the ambush area. 'I assume we should be free to turn it to the max, but don't push that luck too far, eh?' Now quickly labelling the sketch, she moved aside a little so the others could see.

'Okay. We've made a kill-zone here, but couldn't do much else 'cos too much movement will alert targets something is fishy. I'm gonna put myself here, on top of a junkpile for covering fire. Couple of other decent places for anyone with a rifle. Spotted at least three other places for concealment. Try not to hit the trailer, that's somebody's home.'

Anja's Post:

'Oh, I know they're dangerous. That's why it's an ambush, and idea is to throw so much crap from several directions at once to overwhelm their brains 'cos they don't know who to target - or even who's attacking.' ending with a little grin.

'Any questions?'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Chantry]

'Would have been an idea to do print-outs for everyone. Thanks.' taking the bit of paper from Fran, using the wall as support as she started to do a quick sketch of the ambush area. 'I assume we should be free to turn it to the max, but don't push that luck too far, eh?' Now quickly labelling the sketch, she moved aside a little so the others could see.

"I could ask Master Sharaya for additional print outs."
Jon offered.
"And yeah we need to show some restraint but at least we will be free to spice things up."
The Virtual Adept commented and Fran chuckled at that.

'Okay. We've made a kill-zone here, but couldn't do much else 'cos too much movement will alert targets something is fishy. I'm gonna put myself here, on top of a junkpile for covering fire. Couple of other decent places for anyone with a rifle. Spotted at least three other places for concealment. Try not to hit the trailer, that's somebody's home.'

"I should also take some cover so I have the time to work my magick."
Hildegard said.
"Perhaps me and Miss Rozzo should be around here."
Richard said and he pointed at your map,
"If any of the creatures escape the kill zone we should be able to slow them down considerably."
He added and the woman that had to be Bianca Rozzo a young woman, dressed like a hippie with rings on her thin fingers and long red hair grinned a little and patted her dagger.
"Is our goral to grant the good death to all of these predators?"
Fran asked.
"Or just make sure they get the message and never return?"

'Oh, I know they're dangerous. That's why it's an ambush, and idea is to throw so much crap from several directions at once to overwhelm their brains 'cos they don't know who to target - or even who's attacking.' ending with a little grin.

"Sounds like a usable plan, hit them fast and hard."
Jon said and nodded.
"This about hitting them from several directions at once how literal do you want that? For I have a program that might help you there."

'Any questions?'

"I hear thes creatures have slaves who work for them, what do we do if we encounter their ehm...friends?"
Fran asked.
"I would say if we can spare them then we do but if they join in the attack then we might have no choice Miss Mundis."
Hildegard said an frowned and Fran nodded at that.
"Are we going to try to take any prisoners? You know in case there are more of them in on it than the ones that show up at the junkyard?"
Richard asked.
"It might be worth to spare one of the critters to get information from if possible."

(OOC: I am going home from visiting my mother today so I will be on a train all day so posting might be slow.)

[Warpmind]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"It would be a good way to learn subtlety yes but it would also be a very dangerous idea."
Bruce said and frowned.

Colin nodded, "Very true. A little luck and a bit of prediction can go a long way, but too much, and it will look suspect."

Bruce nodded at that.
"I can fire a gun and hold my ground in a fight but I have no official training."
He agreed.

He nodded, "The distinction being in the team training - marksmanship is good, but training with a squad involves a rather different set of skills. I think Miss Bouchard has that sort of training, though if not, Adley would be the next logical choice as squad leader."

((OOC: The distinction between training with zero magic, and training with people who know magic, I guess. Colin might not have realized the extent of House Flambeau's squad tactics training, though, since the iconic image of the House is, well, pretty much Gandalf standing on the bridge and blowing the Balrog to smithereens. ))

[Abandoned Junkyard]

The blond girl smiled a little at that and nodded.
"Well I guess some things are worth it but I would prefer to survive. So you can use magick as you wish when you are not doing something impossible?"
She asked.
"Without getting hurt."

He nodded, "I might make a mistake and get hurt, but the same thing could happen when I trim my nails. So yes, I can pretty much do anything I like so long as it's subtle enough to escape notice - such as scrying through space and time, or giving myself a little extra luck, or even enchanting a lucky charm to improve the bearer's fortune for a few months... With a bit of extra power to fuel a spell, I could probably watch the Battle of Waterloo as it happened, with no danger to myself, though recording video footage of it would probably be an excessively bad idea..."

"Tell her to speak words to this place, this location, to the discarded and unloved and I will hear her and I will give her the ability to see and hear me."
The Umbrood said.

He bowed slightly, "So be it, O Spirit... Is there a name by which you would be addressed?"

((OOC: Safe trip. Hope NSB treats you right this time. ))

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

Colin smiled wryly, "I have memories of twenty years of flying them, but those memories are from a vision of the future, twenty years from now. I am... adequately confident I could take the girl out for short trips - Chicago and back, that sort of thing - but I haven't actually had my first Umbral flight lesson yet. It's not too dissimilar to operating a mundane aircraft in terms of controls, but the handling is quite different."

"Well nothing like a memories of the the future to boost your confidence in the present." Serge said with a smile. "Good luck learning how to fly them."

"And when you have learned how to handle yourself in a fight without magick you can learn how to do so with magick."
Bruce declared.

"Imagine how claver you could be if you first learned how to fight without it, so that it is not your only tool."
The Orphan commented.

Colin nodded, "You must learn to crawl before you can learn to walk, and to walk before you can run... If you start out with the most dangerous weaponry, you're more likely to get yourself and your teammates hurt or killed than the enemy. Think of it like a good video game tutorial - you get a few minutes to familiarize yourself with moving properly, then you get to try some harmless target practice, and then you get to test your skills against things that fight back... This is no 8-bit era platformer where the cartridge has no space for a tutorial."

"All right then." Serge said with a nonchalant shrug, although it was clear he was saddened by the news. "But remember that it'll make balancing the teams a lot harder. As I'd essentially be a massive handicap to whoever you put me with."

He smiled wryly, "If you start using mental arts to give yourself an unfair advantage, I'm afraid you might find yourself on the receiving end of some rather elaborate streaks of bad luck..."

"I'm ok with that. You'd need to detect my magick first and then I'd need to sense yours to be able to defend against it. Better to have practice now then when it's real." Serge said with a shrug.

"Winning is fun, but if winning is the only thing you care about then you loose the point."
Bruce said sternly.
"Also it will not be a real combat situation it will be a game with friends so no you can not use your magick unhindered, would you like it if the rest us did so and shot one another with enchanted bullets and friend one another with primal fire?"
He continued.
"Well nor would we like for you to mess with our heads during such a game, even if we used magick it would be restricted to harmless effects and also a game like this could never be seen as the same as actual combat though it can work as good training."

"Forget winning, I just want to do something cool and not just get shot as soon as the game starts." Serge admitted. "I like that harmless magick idea though. The spells I was planning on using were 'harmless' anyways. So I'd be cool if we allowed that."

He nodded, "Winning, if you know you haven't really earned it, tends to have a really sour and bitter aftertaste. If you want to try for a magical duel, I'm sure we could arrange some sparring matches around the Chantry. In fact, I should take that suggestion to the Chief, see if he'd be keen on the idea to arrange training in various dueling forms on the premises."

"I'd be down for that." Serge said with a nod. "I'd lose in a heartbeat but it'd be a lot of fun. I've always wanted to try and fight a Verbana in a knife fight or a skilled martial artist in a sparring match. To test something... "

(OOC: Have a fun trip Anja!)

[Going to the Library]

"I did and if I had to in order to defend myself or the lives of my family and friends, if I had the skills to do so I would, I would kill, te difference is that you wanted it all to be hilarious which is very different thing."
Kyle commented.

"Everyone takes everything I say so seriously." Serge said with a sigh. "If I did make a spell like that all the effect it caused would be harmless things meant to slow down the enemy. Sure I wouldn't enjoy fighting for my life but I can still certainly enjoy the concept of the spell and all it does."

"I think that is the problem I have with your idea Serge, what is funny in a cartoon, is not always funny in real life. Imagine the common trope of you hearing something heavy falling and then a cat screaming, it is hilarious in a cartoon because you know no one is really getting hurt, but when an actual cat is getting mauled by something heavy that is not fun, trust me as someone who have lost control of his dark nature and harme animals when I got to my senses it was not fun. The same the bad guy in a cartoon getting into all sort of misfortune that is quite hilarious, because it is not real, but when it happens to a man with a name, with hopes and dreams, family and friends then it is not funny. It is thr same that I love horror movies, I can not get enough of seeing crazy killers run after their victims with chainsaws an monsters ripping into their victims because it is not real, it is just acting, but when things like that really happens then I do not like it for then it is real, it happens to real people, with real feelings and then it is very different."
The young mage said with a sigh.
"Would it still be funny when a man have gotten some cartoon style misfortune and he is screaming in pain in the street while his guts and his life pour out of him?"
The young widderslainte asked as he looked into your eyes.

Serge looked at the widderslainte before smiling and saying, "You kinda remind of Anna. Try to go straight for the gut. But I've seen my fair share of shit to you know. More than most people realize."

"I think what your failing to forget is that I'd control all of these outcomes. I'd be the storyteller in this scenario. Everything might still be random, but it'd be controlled chaos. It would be my story and my rules everyone is following. Those things don't happen in the shows because there's a director and writers and animators behind them, controlling what will and won't happen in the world. The cat won't die because by some miracle of chance he'll jump out of the tree at the last second, unharmed. The mook won't get injured by the flowerpot because he just so happen to be the hard-headed or it just hit him in the foot." Serge explained further.

"A little differently but generally we see the same reality."
Kyle protested then he sigh and shook his head.
"I hope not Serge for I fear that if you got your rote working you might never recover from the consequences of it."
He added sadly.

"Then if I die it was nice knowing you." Serge said with a grin, obviously not afraid of the consequences.

[Serge's Adventure]

'True... but Morrowind has one advantage; doesn't use auto-leveller lists. Meaning those level 40 vampires are waiting for you on day 1, as well as the stuff in the stores. Bit annoying when the shit you find for sale you've already got.'

"Still doesn't have Thu'ums." Serge said with a shrug. "But their both fun games in their own right."

'So... you're a believer in the "right to be completely stupid", yes? How about when it hurts someone else? Like if some fundie refuses to get medical treatment for their kid just because they think praying will cure them instead?'

"Then I'll to try convince them to do both." Serge said evenly. "Cause that's all that I can do. I'll try and get them to see the benefits of the other side but I'm not gonna force them to do something they don't want to do."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"All right then." Serge said with a nonchalant shrug, although it was clear he was saddened by the news. "But remember that it'll make balancing the teams a lot harder. As I'd essentially be a massive handicap to whoever you put me with."

"Not all of us are good fighters you know, I am sure you would not be as much of a handicap as you think kid."
Bruce said and he smiled.

"Forget winning, I just want to do something cool and not just get shot as soon as the game starts." Serge admitted. "I like that harmless magick idea though. The spells I was planning on using were 'harmless' anyways. So I'd be cool if we allowed that."

"And this is WHY you need to do it without magick to learn, no one is cool right from the start, I lost allot of times when I first started and then I got good at it with work and effort trying to do a little better each time. You need to learn to do things without magick for there might be times when it will not be available to you"
The large Orphan lectured.
"Yes well it would still be magick that affected our minds would it not?"
He asked and frowned.

Colin nodded, "Very true. A little luck and a bit of prediction can go a long way, but too much, and it will look suspect."

Bruce simply nodded at that.

He nodded, "The distinction being in the team training - marksmanship is good, but training with a squad involves a rather different set of skills. I think Miss Bouchard has that sort of training, though if not, Adley would be the next logical choice as squad leader."

"I have seen that Adley fights well Colin, I do not know about Nicole but she did seam to handle herself well in the fight in the Labyrinth or so I hear, since I was here on guard duty while it all well down."
Bruce said and sigh.
"Well I guess someone needed that job as well."

[Abandoned Junkyard]

He nodded, "I might make a mistake and get hurt, but the same thing could happen when I trim my nails. So yes, I can pretty much do anything I like so long as it's subtle enough to escape notice - such as scrying through space and time, or giving myself a little extra luck, or even enchanting a lucky charm to improve the bearer's fortune for a few months... With a bit of extra power to fuel a spell, I could probably watch the Battle of Waterloo as it happened, with no danger to myself, though recording video footage of it would probably be an excessively bad idea..."

"That is so cool, how do someone become a mage? Is it like with the Ratkin that you are born that way and one day it just manifests or can someone be trained into becoming able to work magick?"
The girl asked and smiled.
"Have you seen allot of cool things looking back in time?""

He bowed slightly, "So be it, O Spirit... Is there a name by which you would be addressed?"

"A young man with what I can not touch inside used to come here and work, he called me Bobby."
The giant Umbrood announced.
"But he is not here in this now anymore."

[Going to the Library]

"Everyone takes everything I say so seriously." Serge said with a sigh. "If I did make a spell like that all the effect it caused would be harmless things meant to slow down the enemy. Sure I wouldn't enjoy fighting for my life but I can still certainly enjoy the concept of the spell and all it does."

"When you say something off course someone will take it seriously, especially when you describe things that very much would be dangerous."
Kyle said.

Serge looked at the widderslainte before smiling and saying, "You kinda remind of Anna. Try to go straight for the gut. But I've seen my fair share of shit to you know. More than most people realize."

"I do not know what you may have seen Serge I just assumed from what you said that you a idea of battle from movies and cartoons rather than actually being in a fight yourself, not that I have been in allot of battles but I have lived on the run."
Kyle said then he smiled a little.
"Anna that is Mr Wainwright's student right? He said that in the future she and I are friends."

"I think what your failing to forget is that I'd control all of these outcomes. I'd be the storyteller in this scenario. Everything might still be random, but it'd be controlled chaos. It would be my story and my rules everyone is following. Those things don't happen in the shows because there's a director and writers and animators behind them, controlling what will and won't happen in the world. The cat won't die because by some miracle of chance he'll jump out of the tree at the last second, unharmed. The mook won't get injured by the flowerpot because he just so happen to be the hard-headed or it just hit him in the foot." Serge explained further.

"Well I guess that would be possible for an archmage or someone with several masteries but from what I have read of Traditionalist magick something like that would be extremely difficult and manipulating chance with any degree of precision is not easy, for example you might curse your opponent's car to fail, and fail it will but controlling how it will fail is another matter."
Kyle said he still sounded doubtful.
"And you know there are no mooks, they are all pepole with names, lives and families."

"Then if I die it was nice knowing you." Serge said with a grin, obviously not afraid of the consequences.

"It was not your death I was worried about Serge."
Kyle said and he shook his head.

(OOC: Thank you both.)

(OOC 2: Yeah Flambeau do allot of that, but they also when they recruit adults often go for ex military, cops and the like, they can think tactically as well.)

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Chantry]

Anja's Post:

'An idea; can study the print-outs in the car. If they can be done in time; someone who's ready to move out now can get 'em.'

Anja's Post:

'Will work out exact positions when there, that bit-' pointing to a item on the phone screen '-looks great cover, but will point out in RL it's a plastic tub which comes up to the knees. Once there, we can quickly run through each of our usual opening attacks, and make sure the ones who have a long "warm up" are behind the most solid cover and shit. Know that one of the ideas is to make a fire-break by the entrance, cutting of the dead things' ability to pull back.'

'The ROE is the Chief's call, but if he picks "get message" will point out firmly that chances are they'll come back and wail on the mundies there they use as a snack-bar. Or worse, they'll go back to their command with "the peasants are revolting!" message... then fuck knows what will happen next. Much better to simply turn the lot to dust, make a mystery.' tone making it clear the Etherite didn't want this to spiral into a fullscale war.

'From what I've seen, they're usually totally thrown at organised resistance... suppose they see it as a "man bites dog" thing.' looking thoughtful for a moment. 'How many of you have experience with playing the Buffy?'

Anja's Post:

'As many directions as possible. You ever been in a fight where you got dogpiled?' Nicole replied with a smirk. 'If you can do something which can shift our firing positions - so they think they're being fired on from A when the shooter is actually at B-' pointing to two different parts on her sketch '-will be a godsend. Being able to rig up a few dummy "shooters" from other positions would be nice too.'

Anja's Post:

'I'm going with my usual "you shoot at me, I waste you" rule with the slaves. As for prisoners... problem is, what do we do with 'em afters? Let them go? Great, they can go back to their bosses and say how a bunch of future dinners utterly whipped their asses and were not scared of their fangs. Don't think they'll like that...'

But both of these calls are beyond my pay-grade.'

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

'But does have the ability to make a potion which make you blind, which you can sell for lots of money.' Nicole replied, smirking at the stupidity of the idea. 'And being able to fly.'

Serge's Post:

'Well... praying doesn't actually hurt anyone, at least.' she mused, reaching the entrance of the Chantry.

[Good example of Colin's point: Nick/Darrian's 'drop it in'/'a drop of it in' situation with the vial in the Labyrinth. 'Mixed squads' need to have training, if only to learn each other's capabilities and usual tactics.]

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

"Not all of us are good fighters you know, I am sure you would not be as much of a handicap as you think kid."
Bruce said and he smiled.

"I hope so. It'll be fun regardless." Serge said with a smile.

"And this is WHY you need to do it without magick to learn, no one is cool right from the start, I lost allot of times when I first started and then I got good at it with work and effort trying to do a little better each time. You need to learn to do things without magick for there might be times when it will not be available to you"
The large Orphan lectured.

Serge muttered something under his breath which sounded something like, "Damn bandit queen..."

And then talking normally said, "Fine I'll work for it. As long as we play multiple games. It would suck if we played one and I was out in the first few seconds."

"Yes well it would still be magick that affected our minds would it not?"
He asked and frowned.

"Ok so that may cut down some things on the list, but fortunately it doesn't eliminate everything!" Serge said with a smile.

[Going to the Library]

"When you say something off course someone will take it seriously, especially when you describe things that very much would be dangerous."
Kyle said.

'Guess our minds work in different ways. When I think of the spell I just think of me failing to hit a stationary cardboard cutout of a clown while the laughter of a studio audience plays in the background. I don't immediately go towards the spell in a combat or dangerous situation. Plus the way I'm imagining it, this spell would be impossible to use in real life so I guess I just don't focus on that." Serge said with a shrug.

"I do not know what you may have seen Serge I just assumed from what you said that you a idea of battle from movies and cartoons rather than actually being in a fight yourself, not that I have been in allot of battles but I have lived on the run."
Kyle said then he smiled a little.
"Anna that is Mr Wainwright's student right? He said that in the future she and I are friends."

"Yeah, She's Mr Wainwright apprentice. Sadly she's not british but she's still cool." Serge said with a nod. "You should meet her. Especially if your destined to anyways."

"Well I guess that would be possible for an archmage or someone with several masteries but from what I have read of Traditionalist magick something like that would be extremely difficult and manipulating chance with any degree of precision is not easy, for example you might curse your opponent's car to fail, and fail it will but controlling how it will fail is another matter."
Kyle said he still sounded doubtful.

"I'll admit, maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think it's doable even at my novice level. Wouldn't mind trying. Just needs a bit of work and time." Serge said, sounding oddly confident despite not knowing anything beyond the very basics of luck manipulation, which likely was the source of the confidence. "Controlling broad strokes of luck is admittedly easier. At least from what I've read. But perhaps broad strokes is all the control I need."

"And you know there are no mooks, they are all people with names, lives and families."

"That's just a saying. I'm not stupid. We call our enemies loads of things." Serge said with a raised eyebrow.

"It was not your death I was worried about Serge."
Kyle said and he shook his head.

"I promise I won't drag anyone down with me either." Serge said guessing the nature of Kyle's worry. "If I'm testing this it'll be on me and me alone. In my room all by lonesome."

[Serge's Adventure]

'But does have the ability to make a potion which make you blind, which you can sell for lots of money.' Nicole replied, smirking at the stupidity of the idea. 'And being able to fly.'

"In skyrim you can fly. On a fucking dragon!" Serge said enthusiastically, as if he thought that was the greatest thing in the world.

'Well... praying doesn't actually hurt anyone, at least.' she mused, reaching the entrance of the Chantry.

"Home sweet home." Serge said as he followed Nicole back into their magickal abode.

[Adley]

[Adley and Nicole go to Beefbarn]

'Heh...' the large woman commented, drumming her fingers on the steering-wheel. 'Not been back home for years. And...' a pause, as though debating how much to say 'I kinda left by pulling a vanishing act.'

"Are you concerned you will run into someone that knew you?"

[Cabal Meeting]

"It would also be beneficial to learn how to use my magick in a combat scenario." Serge argued. "I've had a pretty lax time with my magick. Had all the time in the world to cast stuff. Never needed to use it in a stressful environment. This could make for a good experience in that regard."

"And when you have learned how to handle yourself in a fight without magick you can learn how to do so with magick."
Bruce declared.

Colin nodded, "You must learn to crawl before you can learn to walk, and to walk before you can run... If you start out with the most dangerous weaponry, you're more likely to get yourself and your teammates hurt or killed than the enemy. Think of it like a good video game tutorial - you get a few minutes to familiarize yourself with moving properly, then you get to try some harmless target practice, and then you get to test your skills against things that fight back... This is no 8-bit era platformer where the cartridge has no space for a tutorial."

"Certainly it would be advantageous to learn how to use magick in a combat scenario, but then it would only be fair if we were all able to use our magick, with appropriate levels of handicap - or, because real life is not fair and combats not likely to provide equal experiences for everyone involved, perhaps no holds barred. Nothing says stressful environments like lighting a literal fire under one's bottom, hrm? Or perhaps that sounds inordinately dangerous, as it should...which is why we designed certamen...dueling, so that the chances of hurting one another settling fights is reduced and why we do training under safer conditions."

He nodded, "I believe it's just Miss Bouchard and myself who have reasonably good mundane tactical training in this Cabal? Sorry, Adley, but much as House Flambeau is respected for battle prowess, 'mundane tactical training' does not seem to be a major focus of your House."

"That rather depends. I'm not exactly a regular recruit for my House, coming from a scholarly background. There are certainly apprentices and members that have more mundane knowledge than I have or have served in the military or as firefighters, for example. I had to play catch up learning how to use weapons even as I learned about magick and working with other Housemates but I don't pretend to know the sort of training that you have. My House takes those with the Gift that have a fighting spirit, that they think would be beneficial to add to the Order to replenish our ranks. Which is why you could certainly have joined my House, amicus, if you got recruited or let yourself be recruited."

Bruce nodded at that.
"I can fire a gun and hold my ground in a fight but I have no official training."
He agreed.

He nodded, "The distinction being in the team training - marksmanship is good, but training with a squad involves a rather different set of skills. I think Miss Bouchard has that sort of training, though if not, Adley would be the next logical choice as squad leader."

"Our team being various makes it challenging for me, since I am more used to working with other Hermetics in that way - but I think the last weeks have aided me in figuring out how to be more flexible. However, rather than lead primarily, I find that I prefer to assist you in setting up tactics and defenses, both removing the enemies or building our own, locating enemies, such as spirits or bringing reinforcements, such as spirits or taking advantage of our feild and opening up other enemies to someone else's attack. Depending on the situation, though I've been right at the front bashing stuff in the head or shooting it." He shrugged.  "We haven't always had the luxury of much time to do any of that granted, but I think we've done pretty well together considering."

"I have seen that Adley fights well Colin, I do not know about Nicole but she did seam to handle herself well in the fight in the Labyrinth or so I hear, since I was here on guard duty while it all well down."
Bruce said and sigh.
"Well I guess someone needed that job as well."

"Nicole is very good at shooting things that need to be shot at," he said.

"Ahhh, if only I was clever." Serge said with a sigh. "But I could certainly learn to be clever. If magick was allowed in this painball battle.

"Imagine how claver you could be if you first learned how to fight without it, so that it is not your only tool."
The Orphan commented.

He smiled wryly, "If you start using mental arts to give yourself an unfair advantage, I'm afraid you might find yourself on the receiving end of some rather elaborate streaks of bad luck...

"I think you are trying to be clever right now."

"Winning is fun." Serge said with a shrug. "Plus I just wanna see what I can do. I've never had a chance like this. To use my magick unhindered in a real combat environment. I wanna see what I can do. It would be a shame if I got into a real life or death fight and had no idea how to use my magick to defend myself."

"I agree that you should acquire training to use your magick in such scenarios, but trying it out as you go unfettered in a mock combat is not perhaps the best way to go. For one, if something goes wrong, none of us have any magick to fix the problem. And for another, I can't say that I want to be a guinea pig for your mental ars, any more than you would want to be one for me. Perhaps your mentor can suggest someone that you might be able to work with under supervised conditions, though?"

"All right then." Serge said with a nonchalant shrug, although it was clear he was saddened by the news. "But remember that it'll make balancing the teams a lot harder. As I'd essentially be a massive handicap to whoever you put me with."

"Not all of us are good fighters you know, I am sure you would not be as much of a handicap as you think kid."
Bruce said and he smiled.

"I hope so. It'll be fun regardless." Serge said with a smile.

"This is not true. Either we will figure out a correct level of handicap for everyone or we will simply teach you as you go. This is important, for there are times when you have to protect others who do not have any experience in situations like that. Besides, knowing that I can protect you from let's say a barrage, means that you later would be able to protect my mind from some outside influence that I cannot protect myself from."

He nodded, "Winning, if you know you haven't really earned it, tends to have a really sour and bitter aftertaste. If you want to try for a magical duel, I'm sure we could arrange some sparring matches around the Chantry. In fact, I should take that suggestion to the Chief, see if he'd be keen on the idea to arrange training in various dueling forms on the premises."

"I'd be down for that." Serge said with a nod. "I'd lose in a heartbeat but it'd be a lot of fun. I've always wanted to try and fight a Verbana in a knife fight or a skilled martial artist in a sparring match. To test something... "

"Just so you're aware, being stabbed with a wooden knife or sword still hurts. Less lethal, but it leaves a reminder."

"You looked beautiful. Trust me." Serge said with a grin.

He arched an eyebrow, "Somehow, I don't think looking beautiful was Adley's chief concern..."

He huffed a bit. "There better have been practical shoes."

Jeremy wrote:
"Hold up. I'm arranging that." Serge said, furiously drawing something in his notepad.

He raised both eyebrows, then started to chuckle, "Please don't, it won't be good for his health, and then the Chief won't be good for your health..."

"Puff the very polite dragon would not chase me..."

"She loved the picture." Serge said with a smile. "It helped keep her mind off things and reminded her of all the friends she had in the chantry.

He smiled, "Well, that's something, at least..."

"Well, then..." he raised an eyebrow. "Just do be careful of making likenesses of me..."

Jeremy wrote:
"I haven't made it, yet. But now I really want too...."

He pondered, "Perhaps I ought to throw up some proper defenses, too... Actually, Anna's quite clever with that, I should ask her to help me with that. Wouldn't it be impractical if someone entered uninvited, and then couldn't use magic for a week?"

"Perhaps another meeting on pooling those resources would be good, and also we should think about how to allow those in that need to get inside without being KO'd in the process."

"Hey she is the only one in this Cabal I might be able to work in concert with so I should get to know her." Bruce said with a shrug.

"Enjoy your time."

[Chicago]

"Yes it have been quite troublesome."
Crexia said.
"Hopefully we will now have some peace though I fear there might be more trouble coming before long."
The archmage said and she frowned.

"Why do you say that, ma'am?"

"He might be, he was a great warrior, though there is also a chance he went to the afterlife of his forefathers and the African spirit world is separated from the Western one, the same as the Asian one is, through with some trouble one can cross the boundaries."
The archmage said and nodded.
"But it would be nice if Ernje and Carmon could meet one another again, they where like brothers."

He nodded. "At least I hope there is someone there for him."

"I am only doing what I can to help Sodalis."
Crexia said she accepted te note with her handwiting back, probably to burn it later, and then she took the glass and put it on the table so she could bring it to be cleaned later.
"I believe Deaconess Rose is available, I saw her in the library not long ago, she might be there still or at her office."
She informed you.

"I hope the rest of your evening is peaceful, ma'am," he said, giving her a bow of his head. "I will try at the library then, first." He picked up his bag and headed towards the door, so he could find the Deaconess.

// in modern times, it's probably harder to get a squad of all Flambeau together to burninate things, so while they have some tactics in reguards to that, modern magii have to learn to work with non-hermetics more, often being the only one on a given team. Then they end up looking more like Gandalf xD Also Darrian is not a Flambeau, he's Solificati -I don't know what kind of fighting training he has but it's probably less than Tytalus or Flambeau would be likely to have, even if he probably knows some good hermetic potions. Sometimes, you don't get choice fighters due to the lack of available mages, there aren't a whole lot of them, compared to say vampires. Part of the challenge, for sure.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

Nicole went up to her apartment, opened up, went in - leaving the door open so Serge could come in too.

'So, coat or magazines first?'

[RI Roadtrip]

Adley's Post:

A short silence. 'Well... yeah - I'd have a lot of explaining to do. The vanishing act included from the cops and parole officer too.'

[Part of the challenge is to work out each other's moves so you don't hurt each other. Classic example being 'melee fighter being caught in blast of mage's area effect']

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

"Certainly it would be advantageous to learn how to use magick in a combat scenario, but then it would only be fair if we were all able to use our magick, with appropriate levels of handicap - or, because real life is not fair and combats not likely to provide equal experiences for everyone involved, perhaps no holds barred. Nothing says stressful environments like lighting a literal fire under one's bottom, hrm? Or perhaps that sounds inordinately dangerous, as it should...which is why we designed certamen...dueling, so that the chances of hurting one another settling fights is reduced and why we do training under safer conditions."

"I'd be ok with a no holds bar magick fight. Granted Dr. Lee would hopefully be nearby." Serge said with a smile. "I've always imagined ways and tricks of avoiding magickal attacks and striking back. But I'll never know if they work unless I actually get attacked. Their mostly just thoughts in my head at the moment."

"I think you are trying to be clever right now."

"What? Noooooo? Of course not." Serge said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I agree that you should acquire training to use your magick in such scenarios, but trying it out as you go unfettered in a mock combat is not perhaps the best way to go. For one, if something goes wrong, none of us have any magick to fix the problem. And for another, I can't say that I want to be a guinea pig for your mental ars, any more than you would want to be one for me. Perhaps your mentor can suggest someone that you might be able to work with under supervised conditions, though?"

"I'd love to be a guinea pig for your magick. Could you light me on fire while making me fireproof? Just straight up turn me into the human torch." Serge said with a smile. "But yeah I get what you mean. Me and my mentor mostly practiced on each other when I was learning. But now, without her being around I mostly have to try things on myself or use more...interesting methods. It's not really the best way to do things but there aren't many people willing to be subject to that kind of magick."

"This is not true. Either we will figure out a correct level of handicap for everyone or we will simply teach you as you go. This is important, for there are times when you have to protect others who do not have any experience in situations like that. Besides, knowing that I can protect you from let's say a barrage, means that you later would be able to protect my mind from some outside influence that I cannot protect myself from."

"Probably going to be option B. Can't think of any level of handicap that would level the playing field. To many different power levels." Serge said evenly. "And protecting your mind isn't that hard. Just gotta remember what makes you you and push all external influences out. Granted I'm probably biased when I say that, considering I spent 5 years learning how to do that. But if I can do it anyone can."

"Just so you're aware, being stabbed with a wooden knife or sword still hurts. Less lethal, but it leaves a reminder."

"Oh right. Wooden knives are an option..." Serge said evidently expecting to fight a verbana with fully lethal armaments. "But hey. I don't mind a bit of pain, especially if I can do the cool things I want to do." he continued, his words completely contradictory to his stance on physical exercise.

"Puff the very polite dragon would not chase me..."

"What if he wanted to offer you cookies?"

"Perhaps another meeting on pooling those resources would be good, and also we should think about how to allow those in that need to get inside without being KO'd in the process."

"Mental magick can be used to identify people. If its someone I approve of they shouldn't trigger my traps. I think life magick does something similar." Serge offered.

[Serge's Adventure]

Nicole went up to her apartment, opened up, went in - leaving the door open so Serge could come in too.

'So, coat or magazines first?'

"The ghost-coat of course." Serge said as if the choice was obvious.

[Adley]

[Adley and Nicole go to Beefbarn]

A short silence. 'Well... yeah - I'd have a lot of explaining to do. The vanishing act included from the cops and parole officer too.'

"Well then, let's try not to draw any attention and end up arrested, then. I don't suppose you want to share anything about whom or what we might be looking out for, other than the police?"

[Cabal Meeting]

"I'd be ok with a no holds bar magick fight. Granted Dr. Lee would hopefully be nearby." Serge said with a smile. "I've always imagined ways and tricks of avoiding magickal attacks and striking back. But I'll never know if they work unless I actually get attacked. Their mostly just thoughts in my head at the moment."

"Training does help, it's not the same as the real thing but it helps."

"I'd love to be a guinea pig for your magick. Could you light me on fire while making me fireproof? Just straight up turn me into the human torch." Serge said with a smile. "But yeah I get what you mean. Me and my mentor mostly practiced on each other when I was learning. But now, without her being around I mostly have to try things on myself or use more...interesting methods. It's not really the best way to do things but there aren't many people willing to be subject to that kind of magick."

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be, if I messed up I'd be setting you on fire. Or if my fire spell was stronger than my fire protection spell, or, if I really screwed up and was unlucky, I'd set myself on fire. Hrm, perhaps some of the Akashics might be able to help, like Richard."

"Probably going to be option B. Can't think of any level of handicap that would level the playing field. To many different power levels." Serge said evenly. "And protecting your mind isn't that hard. Just gotta remember what makes you you and push all external influences out. Granted I'm probably biased when I say that, considering I spent 5 years learning how to do that. But if I can do it anyone can."

"Anyone with a mentor and five or more years...I could say the same thing for certain things that I know, Sergius. Trust me, I would have been grateful for your skills in some of the fights we were in, especially the first one where we met this spirit that made us feel...well, let's just say absolutely terrible."

"Oh right. Wooden knives are an option..." Serge said evidently expecting to fight a verbana with fully lethal armaments. "But hey. I don't mind a bit of pain, especially if I can do the cool things I want to do." he continued, his words completely contradictory to his stance on physical exercise.

"Not that they can't be lethal, of course..."

"What if he wanted to offer you cookies?"

"Chocolate chip or no deal," he joked.

"Mental magick can be used to identify people. If its someone I approve of they shouldn't trigger my traps. I think life magick does something similar." Serge offered.

"Excellent."
// yup

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

"Training does help, it's not the same as the real thing but it helps."

"That's why I'm looking forward to this. Every little bit helps. Plus the concept of laser paintball tag is just so cool." Serge said with a smile.

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be, if I messed up I'd be setting you on fire. Or if my fire spell was stronger than my fire protection spell, or, if I really screwed up and was unlucky, I'd set myself on fire. Hrm, perhaps some of the Akashics might be able to help, like Richard."

"A little fire won't hurt me. Especially if it sears off my nerve endings first." Serge said with a chuckle. "I don't think Akashics would be a fan of the human torch idea. At the very least I know Yu Die wasn't too fond of my 'fists of fire' pitch."

"Anyone with a mentor and five or more years...I could say the same thing for certain things that I know, Sergius. Trust me, I would have been grateful for your skills in some of the fights we were in, especially the first one where we met this spirit that made us feel...well, let's just say absolutely terrible."

"And I'd be glad to help." Serge said with a nod. "Also, keep calling me Sergius. It's the greatest thing ever and I love it. Makes me sound like a greek hero."

"Chocolate chip or no deal," he joked.

"Even better. They're chewy chocolate chips. The king of all chocolate chip cookies." he said with a grin.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

'It doesn't make me actually invisible or anything.' Nicole replied in an off-hand manner, moving over to a battered suitcase lurking in the corner, pushing the pile of books off it and opening it up. 'Just means I don't stand out so much...' removing a couple of camo jackets and then pulling out a what appeared to be a leather trenchcoat in a strong, dark purple. Shaking it out, Nicole slipped it on; the coat was clearly custom-made, a ¾ length number in a rather traditional cut and well-cared for.

[Activating 'Mercy's Coat' - how cloaked does Nicole get?]

[RI Roadtrip]

Adley's Post:

'Oh, no need to worry about cops. Friendly hacker burned my sheets, I'm now "Nicole Bouchard' in the eyes of the DMV and IRS who considers her an "upright citizen" for some unknown reason.' giving a little laugh. 'Always a chance I may get spotted by someone - not like I'm hard to miss...' the frown deepening. The body language was clear; Nicole was having second thoughts on returning.

[Warpmind]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"Well nothing like a memories of the the future to boost your confidence in the present." Serge said with a smile. "Good luck learning how to fly them."

Colin nodded, "Those memories of the future do offer some reassurance - especially since I remember bits and pieces of how the shuttle handles. But, to avoid another visit from a certain wrinkly old fellow, I really need to learn it properly, in the right order."

"Certainly it would be advantageous to learn how to use magick in a combat scenario, but then it would only be fair if we were all able to use our magick, with appropriate levels of handicap - or, because real life is not fair and combats not likely to provide equal experiences for everyone involved, perhaps no holds barred. Nothing says stressful environments like lighting a literal fire under one's bottom, hrm? Or perhaps that sounds inordinately dangerous, as it should...which is why we designed certamen...dueling, so that the chances of hurting one another settling fights is reduced and why we do training under safer conditions."

"I'd be ok with a no holds bar magick fight. Granted Dr. Lee would hopefully be nearby." Serge said with a smile. "I've always imagined ways and tricks of avoiding magickal attacks and striking back. But I'll never know if they work unless I actually get attacked. Their mostly just thoughts in my head at the moment."

"Training does help, it's not the same as the real thing but it helps."

"That's why I'm looking forward to this. Every little bit helps. Plus the concept of laser paintball tag is just so cool." Serge said with a smile.

He shrugged, "No holds barred might be a bit much. I'm not sure if Dr. Lee is quite able to regrow obliterated limbs yet. Master Nassa might manage, but I don't think it would be a small feat, even for him..."

"All right then." Serge said with a nonchalant shrug, although it was clear he was saddened by the news. "But remember that it'll make balancing the teams a lot harder. As I'd essentially be a massive handicap to whoever you put me with."

"Not all of us are good fighters you know, I am sure you would not be as much of a handicap as you think kid."
Bruce said and he smiled.

"I hope so. It'll be fun regardless." Serge said with a smile.

"This is not true. Either we will figure out a correct level of handicap for everyone or we will simply teach you as you go. This is important, for there are times when you have to protect others who do not have any experience in situations like that. Besides, knowing that I can protect you from let's say a barrage, means that you later would be able to protect my mind from some outside influence that I cannot protect myself from."

"Probably going to be option B. Can't think of any level of handicap that would level the playing field. To many different power levels." Serge said evenly. "And protecting your mind isn't that hard. Just gotta remember what makes you you and push all external influences out. Granted I'm probably biased when I say that, considering I spent 5 years learning how to do that. But if I can do it anyone can."

"Anyone with a mentor and five or more years...I could say the same thing for certain things that I know, Sergius. Trust me, I would have been grateful for your skills in some of the fights we were in, especially the first one where we met this spirit that made us feel...well, let's just say absolutely terrible."

"And I'd be glad to help." Serge said with a nod. "Also, keep calling me Sergius. It's the greatest thing ever and I love it. Makes me sound like a greek hero."

He smiled thinly, "Actually, I do believe you're pretty much on par with Beatrice, for the purpose of laser tag or paintball - when she is in shape, that is. Oh, she's a dancing flurry of steel with a knife or two, but when it comes to shooting, not so much..."

"I'm ok with that. You'd need to detect my magick first and then I'd need to sense yours to be able to defend against it. Better to have practice now then when it's real." Serge said with a shrug.

He grinned, "Ah, but you should be warned, I've figured out some pretty sophisticated tricks for masking my magic - you might notice there's something coming, but pinpointing the what and where might prove a little harder..."

"I think you are trying to be clever right now."

"What? Noooooo? Of course not." Serge said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

He grinned, "That's it, you've all heard of swear jars? I'm going to institute a Cabal Sarcasm Jar, effective tomorrow. We'll be able to afford our own Umbral Battlecruiser for Christmas."

"I agree that you should acquire training to use your magick in such scenarios, but trying it out as you go unfettered in a mock combat is not perhaps the best way to go. For one, if something goes wrong, none of us have any magick to fix the problem. And for another, I can't say that I want to be a guinea pig for your mental ars, any more than you would want to be one for me. Perhaps your mentor can suggest someone that you might be able to work with under supervised conditions, though?"

"I'd love to be a guinea pig for your magick. Could you light me on fire while making me fireproof? Just straight up turn me into the human torch." Serge said with a smile. "But yeah I get what you mean. Me and my mentor mostly practiced on each other when I was learning. But now, without her being around I mostly have to try things on myself or use more...interesting methods. It's not really the best way to do things but there aren't many people willing to be subject to that kind of magick."

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be, if I messed up I'd be setting you on fire. Or if my fire spell was stronger than my fire protection spell, or, if I really screwed up and was unlucky, I'd set myself on fire. Hrm, perhaps some of the Akashics might be able to help, like Richard."

"A little fire won't hurt me. Especially if it sears off my nerve endings first." Serge said with a chuckle. "I don't think Akashics would be a fan of the human torch idea. At the very least I know Yu Die wasn't too fond of my 'fists of fire' pitch."

He shook his head, "Take it from me, son - you really don't want to be Adley's guinea pig. If he starts cutting loose, there's nothing 'little' about his fires; he packs an impressive punch even without extra Quintessence at hand, and fire gets... quite unpleasant, and quickly."

"Forget winning, I just want to do something cool and not just get shot as soon as the game starts." Serge admitted. "I like that harmless magick idea though. The spells I was planning on using were 'harmless' anyways. So I'd be cool if we allowed that."

"And this is WHY you need to do it without magick to learn, no one is cool right from the start, I lost allot of times when I first started and then I got good at it with work and effort trying to do a little better each time. You need to learn to do things without magick for there might be times when it will not be available to you"
The large Orphan lectured.
"Yes well it would still be magick that affected our minds would it not?"
He asked and frowned.

Serge muttered something under his breath which sounded something like, "Damn bandit queen..."

And then talking normally said, "Fine I'll work for it. As long as we play multiple games. It would suck if we played one and I was out in the first few seconds."

"Ok so that may cut down some things on the list, but fortunately it doesn't eliminate everything!" Serge said with a smile.

He grinned, "Of course we'll have several matches - most likely with some switching around of the team rosters, too. As for harmless magic - pretty much all sorts of magic has the potential for going awry and causing harm. Sort of like walking barefoot across a carpet where there's a Lego piece lying in the fluff; if you're unlucky, it's going to hurt a lot, even if there's no permanent damage."

"I'd be down for that." Serge said with a nod. "I'd lose in a heartbeat but it'd be a lot of fun. I've always wanted to try and fight a Verbana in a knife fight or a skilled martial artist in a sparring match. To test something... "

"Just so you're aware, being stabbed with a wooden knife or sword still hurts. Less lethal, but it leaves a reminder."

"Oh right. Wooden knives are an option..." Serge said evidently expecting to fight a verbana with fully lethal armaments. "But hey. I don't mind a bit of pain, especially if I can do the cool things I want to do." he continued, his words completely contradictory to his stance on physical exercise.

"Not that they can't be lethal, of course..."

He frowned, "Ah, I was thinking of various forms of magical duels, such as Certamen, or even the Virtual Adepts' Core Wars, for the really adventurous..."

"That rather depends. I'm not exactly a regular recruit for my House, coming from a scholarly background. There are certainly apprentices and members that have more mundane knowledge than I have or have served in the military or as firefighters, for example. I had to play catch up learning how to use weapons even as I learned about magick and working with other Housemates but I don't pretend to know the sort of training that you have. My House takes those with the Gift that have a fighting spirit, that they think would be beneficial to add to the Order to replenish our ranks. Which is why you could certainly have joined my House, amicus, if you got recruited or let yourself be recruited."

He smiled thinly, "I suppose I could have... though as your Mentor said, I would have fit better in the Tremere that was, way back when..."

"Our team being various makes it challenging for me, since I am more used to working with other Hermetics in that way - but I think the last weeks have aided me in figuring out how to be more flexible. However, rather than lead primarily, I find that I prefer to assist you in setting up tactics and defenses, both removing the enemies or building our own, locating enemies, such as spirits or bringing reinforcements, such as spirits or taking advantage of our feild and opening up other enemies to someone else's attack. Depending on the situation, though I've been right at the front bashing stuff in the head or shooting it." He shrugged. "We haven't always had the luxury of much time to do any of that granted, but I think we've done pretty well together considering."

He nodded, "Indeed, you've shown quite the mental agility, following my admittedly tangential trains of thought, if you'll pardon the alliteration; following my lead with the Qlippothic air wall at the post office was... not something I think everyone could have done so quickly. What you lack in leadership experience is, well, something that you'll be able to pick up in the fullness of time."

"I have seen that Adley fights well Colin, I do not know about Nicole but she did seam to handle herself well in the fight in the Labyrinth or so I hear, since I was here on guard duty while it all well down."
Bruce said and sigh.
"Well I guess someone needed that job as well."

"Nicole is very good at shooting things that need to be shot at," he said.

He nodded, "Miss Bouchard is efficient; in fact, that's something she and you have in common, Adley - you're quite quick to make sure one target is neutralized before moving right on to the next, rather than how some either fail to make sure, or spend far more time and energy to keep, hm, beating the proverbial dead horse to make sure it won't rise again while its allies keep closing in."

"Puff the very polite dragon would not chase me..."

"What if he wanted to offer you cookies?"

"Chocolate chip or no deal," he joked.

"Even better. They're chewy chocolate chips. The king of all chocolate chip cookies." he said with a grin.

He nodded sagely, "Indeed, a luxurious snack. I really ought to find out where my cookie jar went..."
He snapped his fingers with a frown, "Oh, right, I left it with Kyle, after the hospital trip... hum, well... I'll have to stop by for it again, I guess. No rush..."

"Perhaps another meeting on pooling those resources would be good, and also we should think about how to allow those in that need to get inside without being KO'd in the process."

"Mental magick can be used to identify people. If its someone I approve of they shouldn't trigger my traps. I think life magick does something similar." Serge offered.

"Excellent."

He nodded, "Another reasonably simple way, I guess, would be to make a set of rings keyed to the wards; anyone not wearing the right ring would suffer the consequences."

[Abandoned Junkyard]

"That is so cool, how do someone become a mage? Is it like with the Ratkin that you are born that way and one day it just manifests or can someone be trained into becoming able to work magick?"
The girl asked and smiled.
"Have you seen allot of cool things looking back in time?""

He smiled, "Both, actually. I became a Mage the day I took a missile to the face, and my Avatar Awakened. Others are slowly coaxed toward the understanding of the greater supernatural world. Neither is inherently better than the other, though I will admit getting half your face blasted off is a fairly exceptional and unpleasant way to Awaken."
He nodded, "I've seen... friends and family in another life, centuries ago, and my wife-to-be, centuries in the future, still beautiful... and I've seen horrors you would not believe, nor want to hear, so I won't describe them. But, being able to look a little while back in time can be incredibly useful for finding your phone..."

"A young man with what I can not touch inside used to come here and work, he called me Bobby."
The giant Umbrood announced.
"But he is not here in this now anymore."

He bowed slightly, "Very well, Bobby it is. I will come to speak with you again in another Now, when the parasites no longer come to feed on those in your domain."
Then, he turned around and looked for the girl who wanted to know the spirit.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

He shrugged, "No holds barred might be a bit much. I'm not sure if Dr. Lee is quite able to regrow obliterated limbs yet. Master Nassa might manage, but I don't think it would be a small feat, even for him..."

"Then repairing whatever sorry state I'm in will be good practice. Hopefully it's a solid sorry state." Serge said with a smile.

He smiled thinly, "Actually, I do believe you're pretty much on par with Beatrice, for the purpose of laser tag or paintball - when she is in shape, that is. Oh, she's a dancing flurry of steel with a knife or two, but when it comes to shooting, not so much..."

Serge looked skeptical at the statement. "Really? I'm on par with Beatrice? The Beatrice that caused a tree to appear in the middle of a road and is a part of a cabal known for it's knife work. The only impressive thing I've done is making stuffed animals talk. I think there's a slight difference between us. She'd definitely gut me. Or....since we're using painball guns. She'd paint me. Hey! She's a painter! That makes sense!"

He grinned, "Ah, but you should be warned, I've figured out some pretty sophisticated tricks for masking my magic - you might notice there's something coming, but pinpointing the what and where might prove a little harder..."

"My magick's naturally hidden. The sign of a good mind mage is when no one knows he's doing anything. And since most people refuse to see my fun illusions there rather unprepared when it actually happens." Serge said with a shrug. "Still though. Your gonna have to teach me those masks. Wouldn't mind having those under my belt."

He grinned, "That's it, you've all heard of swear jars? I'm going to institute a Cabal Sarcasm Jar, effective tomorrow. We'll be able to afford our own Umbral Battlecruiser for Christmas."

Serge reached into his back pocket and pulled out a leather wallet and opened up to pay his dues in advance. However a confused look appeared on his face when he looked inside. After a few seconds he turned the wallet upside down, and began to shake it vigorously in hopes that something would fall out. When this endeavor failed he simply said, "Ok, so I'm definitely glad that it's effective tomorrow. Why the hell do I even own a wallet?"

He shook his head, "Take it from me, son - you really don't want to be Adley's guinea pig. If he starts cutting loose, there's nothing 'little' about his fires; he packs an impressive punch even without extra Quintessence at hand, and fire gets... quite unpleasant, and quickly."

"See, that's where the cost-risk analysis pays off once again. On one hand, Adley could incinerate me. On the other hand, if he doesn't reduce me to ashes he gets to be my guinea pig and enjoy a one-way ticket to Serge's wonderland."

He grinned, "Of course we'll have several matches - most likely with some switching around of the team rosters, too. As for harmless magic - pretty much all sorts of magic has the potential for going awry and causing harm. Sort of like walking barefoot across a carpet where there's a Lego piece lying in the fluff; if you're unlucky, it's going to hurt a lot, even if there's no permanent damage."

"Changing teams is a good idea. Let's us work with different people and keeps the games interesting." Serge said with a nod, evidently liking the idea.  

He frowned, "Ah, I was thinking of various forms of magical duels, such as Certamen, or even the Virtual Adepts' Core Wars, for the really adventurous..."

"I really wanna know how those VA's do that." Serge said with an inquiring look about him.

[Serge's Adventure]

'It doesn't make me actually invisible or anything.' Nicole replied in an off-hand manner, moving over to a battered suitcase lurking in the corner, pushing the pile of books off it and opening it up. 'Just means I don't stand out so much...' removing a couple of camo jackets and then pulling out a what appeared to be a leather trenchcoat in a strong, dark purple. Shaking it out, Nicole slipped it on; the coat was clearly custom-made, a ¾ length number in a rather traditional cut and well-cared for.

"Don't undersell it. You gotta hype stuff up if you wanna sell it to a crowd." Serge said, although his interest in the jacket still remained as he watched Nicole like a hawk. Waiting for the moment where he expected her to disappear.

[Adley]

[Adley and Nicole go to Beefbarn]

'Oh, no need to worry about cops. Friendly hacker burned my sheets, I'm now "Nicole Bouchard' in the eyes of the DMV and IRS who considers her an "upright citizen" for some unknown reason.' giving a little laugh. 'Always a chance I may get spotted by someone - not like I'm hard to miss...' the frown deepening. The body language was clear; Nicole was having second thoughts on returning.

"Well, they probably won't be expecting to see you or be actively looking for you if it's been that long. Do you have a cover story that I need to know, if we should happen to run into someone? Or are you thinking we should try for a game in Boston? You seem half wanting to see what's changed. The other half, not so much."

[Cabal meeting]

"A little fire won't hurt me. Especially if it sears off my nerve endings first." Serge said with a chuckle. "I don't think Akashics would be a fan of the human torch idea. At the very least I know Yu Die wasn't too fond of my 'fists of fire' pitch."

"See, that's where the cost-risk analysis pays off once again. On one hand, Adley could incinerate me. On the other hand, if he doesn't reduce me to ashes he gets to be my guinea pig and enjoy a one-way ticket to Serge's wonderland.

"I'd rather not imagine you being set on fire...but I meant rather they might have some ideas for you to hone your mind magick skills. As for your wonderland, I will be sure not to eat any tiny cakes or drink any potions..."

He shook his head, "Take it from me, son - you really don't want to be Adley's guinea pig. If he starts cutting loose, there's nothing 'little' about his fires; he packs an impressive punch even without extra Quintessence at hand, and fire gets... quite unpleasant, and quickly."

"To be fair, I haven't yet created a conflagration like a fireball, yet."

"And I'd be glad to help." Serge said with a nod. "Also, keep calling me Sergius. It's the greatest thing ever and I love it. Makes me sound like a greek hero."

"Roman," he corrected. "Sergius is Latin."

He grinned, "That's it, you've all heard of swear jars? I'm going to institute a Cabal Sarcasm Jar, effective tomorrow. We'll be able to afford our own Umbral Battlecruiser for Christmas."

"Our cabal will be rich, it's members poor."

Serge reached into his back pocket and pulled out a leather wallet and opened up to pay his dues in advance. However a confused look appeared on his face when he looked inside. After a few seconds he turned the wallet upside down, and began to shake it vigorously in hopes that something would fall out. When this endeavor failed he simply said, "Ok, so I'm definitely glad that it's effective tomorrow. Why the hell do I even own a wallet?"

"To keep your moths and pocket lint in? It seems similar to mine, thin and mostly for show."

He smiled thinly, "I suppose I could have... though as your Mentor said, I would have fit better in the Tremere that was, way back when..."

"True. But that would have been some while ago."

He nodded, "Indeed, you've shown quite the mental agility, following my admittedly tangential trains of thought, if you'll pardon the alliteration; following my lead with the Qlippothic air wall at the post office was... not something I think everyone could have done so quickly. What you lack in leadership experience is, well, something that you'll be able to pick up in the fullness of time."

He chuckled. "It's not so much your train of thought is so hard, but that you seem to have multiple trains going at the same time...that was a good spell that we used," he agreed.

He nodded, "Miss Bouchard is efficient; in fact, that's something she and you have in common, Adley - you're quite quick to make sure one target is neutralized before moving right on to the next, rather than how some either fail to make sure, or spend far more time and energy to keep, hm, beating the proverbial dead horse to make sure it won't rise again while its allies keep closing in."

"Well, the last time that we left someone on the field seemingly quite incapacitated I ended up being held hostage by said mage later on, so it's a good reminder."

"Even better. They're chewy chocolate chips. The king of all chocolate chip cookies." he said with a grin.

"Hrm, that is tempting."

He nodded sagely, "Indeed, a luxurious snack. I really ought to find out where my cookie jar went..."
He snapped his fingers with a frown, "Oh, right, I left it with Kyle, after the hospital trip... hum, well... I'll have to stop by for it again, I guess. No rush..."

"I was going to say next to the sarcasm jar."

He nodded, "Another reasonably simple way, I guess, would be to make a set of rings keyed to the wards; anyone not wearing the right ring would suffer the consequences."

"Rings can be stolen and used, plus I have not gotten used to fighting wearing them."

"I really wanna know how those VA's do that." Serge said with an inquiring look about him.

"Something to talk to Jon about."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Chantry]

'An idea; can study the print-outs in the car. If they can be done in time; someone who's ready to move out now can get 'em.'

"I can get them, Fran is a better shot than me without the aid of magick and my programs might help more efficiently with other things."
Jon said and he nodded and headed towards the stairs to get to Narim's office once the group where done talking.

'Will work out exact positions when there, that bit-' pointing to a item on the phone screen '-looks great cover, but will point out in RL it's a plastic tub which comes up to the knees. Once there, we can quickly run through each of our usual opening attacks, and make sure the ones who have a long "warm up" are behind the most solid cover and shit. Know that one of the ideas is to make a fire-break by the entrance, cutting of the dead things' ability to pull back.'

"That plan is sound Miss Bouchard, I will take care of cutting their escape of with fire, though it would be easier for me to have the aid of oil or some flammable substance I can do so on my own as well."
Hildegard said and nodded.

'The ROE is the Chief's call, but if he picks "get message" will point out firmly that chances are they'll come back and wail on the mundies there they use as a snack-bar. Or worse, they'll go back to their command with "the peasants are revolting!" message... then fuck knows what will happen next. Much better to simply turn the lot to dust, make a mystery.' tone making it clear the Etherite didn't want this to spiral into a fullscale war.

"Well there is a goo chance the vampires will figure out that we have done this regardless an just slaughtering the enemy left and right do not sit well with me, I will kill to protect the innocent or someone who is trying to kill me, but once someone is helpless, I may be Euthanathos but I am not a cold blooded murderer."
Fran said and frowned.

'From what I've seen, they're usually totally thrown at organised resistance... suppose they see it as a "man bites dog" thing.' looking thoughtful for a moment. 'How many of you have experience with playing the Buffy?'

"I have killed vampires a couple of times but only when there have been extreme need, I am not a vampire hunter."
Hildegard who surprisingly seamed to take the reference said.
"I know a bit a about them, I have spoken with them a few times but never tried to take them down other than at the Labyrinth."
Fran said.
"I have fought them a few times to protect sleepers but never taken their lives."
Richard said.

'As many directions as possible. You ever been in a fight where you got dogpiled?' Nicole replied with a smirk. 'If you can do something which can shift our firing positions - so they think they're being fired on from A when the shooter is actually at B-' pointing to two different parts on her sketch '-will be a godsend. Being able to rig up a few dummy "shooters" from other positions would be nice too.'

"Direction is just a part of the code, that code can be changed, I can have our fire come from anywhere you like, any direction or from the sky and the ground to if you prefer."
Jon said.
"I have not been in a situation like the one you mention but I get the point."

'I'm going with my usual "you shoot at me, I waste you" rule with the slaves. As for prisoners... problem is, what do we do with 'em afters? Let them go? Great, they can go back to their bosses and say how a bunch of future dinners utterly whipped their asses and were not scared of their fangs. Don't think they'll like that...'

"The slaves I don't know I would be hesitant to just kill living breathing human beings, they can be saves but as or the vampires, if we take a prisoner unless there are very good reasons not to probably we will have to execute said prisoner, though that will be up to the Chief."
Fran said and she frowned.

But both of these calls are beyond my pay-grade.'

"I am the highest ranking sent on this mission, the Chief have left it to me but I am not used to leading combat missions as such, my recommendation would be if any of the slaves surrender, we take them prisoner and decide their fate later, taking one of the vampires prisoner would be useful, we accomplish nothing if we just kill of one limb of a group who use these poor pepole as a feeding ground, we need more information."
Hildegard said firmly.

[Cabal Meeting]

He grinned, "That's it, you've all heard of swear jars? I'm going to institute a Cabal Sarcasm Jar, effective tomorrow. We'll be able to afford our own Umbral Battlecruiser for Christmas."

"You are aware that you would probably be the one to contribute the most to this sarcasm jar right Colin?"
Bruce said sounding amused.

He frowned, "Ah, I was thinking of various forms of magical duels, such as Certamen, or even the Virtual Adepts' Core Wars, for the really adventurous..."

"Yeah that is a pass on that last one for me."
Bruce said and he grunted.
"I do not wish to use my Avatar, part of my brain or not as an attack dog."

"Nicole is very good at shooting things that need to be shot at," he said.

"Yes so I have heard."
Bruce said with a grin.

"Puff the very polite dragon would not chase me..."

"Indeed he is a very polite dragon after all."
The large Orphan said and grinned.

"Enjoy your time."

Bruce nodded at that.
"Thank you Adley."

"I hope so. It'll be fun regardless." Serge said with a smile.

"I am sure you will do great kid."
Bruce said and he nodded.

Serge muttered something under his breath which sounded something like, "Damn bandit queen..."

And then talking normally said, "Fine I'll work for it. As long as we play multiple games. It would suck if we played one and I was out in the first few seconds."

"Oh I am sure we can arrange for that Serge, you will not learn from just one game."
Bruce said and grinned.

"Ok so that may cut down some things on the list, but fortunately it doesn't eliminate everything!" Serge said with a smile.

"Well no I do assume you have some other skills as well kid."
The Orphan said and nodded.

"A little fire won't hurt me. Especially if it sears off my nerve endings first." Serge said with a chuckle. "I don't think Akashics would be a fan of the human torch idea. At the very least I know Yu Die wasn't too fond of my 'fists of fire' pitch."

"There is a rumor that some Verbena can do that, turn themselves into a ball of flame. I think it is less flames that Akashics would be against though Serge and more turning their art into a Hollywood stereotype."
Bruce said and he raised an eyebrow.


[Going to the Library]

'Guess our minds work in different ways. When I think of the spell I just think of me failing to hit a stationary cardboard cutout of a clown while the laughter of a studio audience plays in the background. I don't immediately go towards the spell in a combat or dangerous situation. Plus the way I'm imagining it, this spell would be impossible to use in real life so I guess I just don't focus on that." Serge said with a shrug.

"Well I guess if the spell is just a fantasy and nothing you plan on doing in real life, then that is another matter, but it is a little hard to know when you do not seperate between talking about what you would like to do in real life and what you discuss as a fantasy."
Kyle said.
"But just as a fantasy I guess the spell is fine."

"Yeah, She's Mr Wainwright apprentice. Sadly she's not british but she's still cool." Serge said with a nod. "You should meet her. Especially if your destined to anyways."

"Anna is Fallen I think that Mr Wainwright think it will be good for both her and me to have someone to talk with who are in the same boat."
The young widderslainte said an smiled.

"I'll admit, maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think it's doable even at my novice level. Wouldn't mind trying. Just needs a bit of work and time." Serge said, sounding oddly confident despite not knowing anything beyond the very basics of luck manipulation, which likely was the source of the confidence. "Controlling broad strokes of luck is admittedly easier. At least from what I've read. But perhaps broad strokes is all the control I need."

"Broad strokes are what will get someone killed in your scenario, broad strokes might reduce the luck of your enemy or increase your luck, but the rest is up to reality, and you will have no control over what accident might befall them, now this is useful in a fight, when running from someone for example and you know they want to kill you or worse it do not matter if they get hurt in the process, but the rote you describe require allot more than broad strokes."
Kyle said and he shook his head.

"That's just a saying. I'm not stupid. We call our enemies loads of things." Serge said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey I like you Serge, you are my friend and I do not want to say anything to you to insult you or anything, I know you are not stupid."
Kyle said then he sigh.
"But I know that if I had called potential opponents mooks my dad would have whipped me bloody and for a good reason, you see when you call your enemies mooks and such it is far easier to just harm them and think nothing of it, they are not people, they are mooks, and somewhere in that we loose our humanity. It is the same as how many in USA are ok with the prison population getting tortured, raped and beaten or they are just criminals, not human, not like you or me, just criminals, it is the same thing."
The young boy said in a serious tone of voice.
"I hate to sound so much like a Hermetic but words matters."

"I promise I won't drag anyone down with me either." Serge said guessing the nature of Kyle's worry. "If I'm testing this it'll be on me and me alone. In my room all by lonesome."

Kyle nodded at that but he still looked concerned.

[Chicago]

"Why do you say that, ma'am?"

"Premonitions Sodalis, still weak and vague enough that it is har to know for sure what will happen but I know more death and trouble is coming, and I do not know how to stop it."
Crexia said and she frowned.
"And I do not think we have seen the last of the Nephandi and their servants."

He nodded. "At least I hope there is someone there for him."

"I hope so to Sodalis, I hope so to."
Crexia said sadly.
"He deserve support and some happiness in his afterlife."

"I hope the rest of your evening is peaceful, ma'am," he said, giving her a bow of his head. "I will try at the library then, first." He picked up his bag and headed towards the door, so he could find the Deaconess.

"Yours as well Sodalis."
Crexia sai and she stood and walked you to the doo of her office.

You got to the library, it was a large room filled with rows of shelves, in one corner there was a small desk with a greed top, Master Antonius sat at this desk sleeping with Granite in his lap. Near the oor where a small table and some old armchairs, Deaconess Rose sat in one of these chairs as Isabella placed several books before her.
"These might contain the information you are looking for Deaconess Rose."
The vampiress said an Madeline looked up from the books she was already reading and nodded.
"Thank you Miss Jarden."
She said and then she noticed you entering.
"Good evening Mr Roth Hicks."
She said and Isabella bowed to you.
"Good evening, may I help you?"
Granite looked in your direction as you entered and mau happily.

[Serge's Adventure.]

As Nicole put the coat on she do get harder to notice, normally she sort of stand out like a sore thumb in most situation but with that coat she was just sort of there and easy to miss and somehow harder to see, though not invisible.

[Abandoned Junkyard]

He smiled, "Both, actually. I became a Mage the day I took a missile to the face, and my Avatar Awakened. Others are slowly coaxed toward the understanding of the greater supernatural world. Neither is inherently better than the other, though I will admit getting half your face blasted off is a fairly exceptional and unpleasant way to Awaken."

"Is that how you got the scars? Shit that must have hurt."
The young girl said and she looked shocked.
"That is how you became a mage? Damn!"

He nodded, "I've seen... friends and family in another life, centuries ago, and my wife-to-be, centuries in the future, still beautiful... and I've seen horrors you would not believe, nor want to hear, so I won't describe them. But, being able to look a little while back in time can be incredibly useful for finding your phone..."

"You have seen your wife far into the future? That is so cool!"
The girl exclaimed.
"What horrors is it that you have seen?"

He bowed slightly, "Very well, Bobby it is. I will come to speak with you again in another Now, when the parasites no longer come to feed on those in your domain."
Then, he turned around and looked for the girl who wanted to know the spirit.

"This is acceptable."
The large spirit said and he laid down again to rest. You saw Karin talking with some of the other residents trying to talk them into moving back into one corner of the junkyard, safely out of the way.

(OOC: Well that post took two hours to write. Sorry for being slow I was to tired after the train ride to write a long post before bed yesterday.)

[Warpmind]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"Then repairing whatever sorry state I'm in will be good practice. Hopefully it's a solid sorry state." Serge said with a smile.

Colin smiled wryly, "I'll make sure to have an assortment of peg legs and hook hands ready for you, just in case..."

Serge looked skeptical at the statement. "Really? I'm on par with Beatrice? The Beatrice that caused a tree to appear in the middle of a road and is a part of a cabal known for it's knife work. The only impressive thing I've done is making stuffed animals talk. I think there's a slight difference between us. She'd definitely gut me. Or....since we're using painball guns. She'd paint me. Hey! She's a painter! That makes sense!"

He nodded, "As I said, I think you two are roughly equal in skill for the purpose of paintball or laser tag. If she brings a knife to a gunfight, though, you're doomed."

"My magick's naturally hidden. The sign of a good mind mage is when no one knows he's doing anything. And since most people refuse to see my fun illusions there rather unprepared when it actually happens." Serge said with a shrug. "Still though. Your gonna have to teach me those masks. Wouldn't mind having those under my belt."

He nodded, "We'll see what I can show you. How are you with manipulating chance and raw Quintessence?"

"Our cabal will be rich, it's members poor."

Serge reached into his back pocket and pulled out a leather wallet and opened up to pay his dues in advance. However a confused look appeared on his face when he looked inside. After a few seconds he turned the wallet upside down, and began to shake it vigorously in hopes that something would fall out. When this endeavor failed he simply said, "Ok, so I'm definitely glad that it's effective tomorrow. Why the hell do I even own a wallet?"

"To keep your moths and pocket lint in? It seems similar to mine, thin and mostly for show."

"You are aware that you would probably be the one to contribute the most to this sarcasm jar right Colin?"
Bruce said sounding amused.

He frowned, "Well, bugger, I knew there was something I overlooked. Oh, well, I'll have to reconsider, then..."

"See, that's where the cost-risk analysis pays off once again. On one hand, Adley could incinerate me. On the other hand, if he doesn't reduce me to ashes he gets to be my guinea pig and enjoy a one-way ticket to Serge's wonderland."

"I'd rather not imagine you being set on fire...but I meant rather they might have some ideas for you to hone your mind magick skills. As for your wonderland, I will be sure not to eat any tiny cakes or drink any potions..."

He shook his head, "You do realize that risking your life before you can even try to mess with Adley's head is a really bad bet to begin with, whatever the odds?"

"To be fair, I haven't yet created a conflagration like a fireball, yet."

He arched an eyebrow, "No? No, you're right... hum, timelines again, I think. Still, you've got a better grasp of manipulating physics than I do yet."

"Oh I am sure we can arrange for that Serge, you will not learn from just one game."
Bruce said and grinned.

"Changing teams is a good idea. Let's us work with different people and keeps the games interesting." Serge said with a nod, evidently liking the idea.

He nodded, "Not to mention there'll be less chance of polarizing the Cabal over a few points in a game."

"Roman," he corrected. "Sergius is Latin."

He pondered, "I suppose 'Sergios' would sound more Greek... Don't know what the Greek for 'Hunter' would be, though. Adley?"

"True. But that would have been some while ago."

He sighed, "So it would. And it seems like perhaps I was, then... before things took a turn for the worse."

He chuckled. "It's not so much your train of thought is so hard, but that you seem to have multiple trains going at the same time...that was a good spell that we used," he agreed.

He grinned, "Hence I used the plural. And yes, it worked surprisingly well; perhaps we can make a few older and sager Masters scratch their heads at how we pulled it off?"

"Well, the last time that we left someone on the field seemingly quite incapacitated I ended up being held hostage by said mage later on, so it's a good reminder."

He nodded, "Well, that, too... And in the same vein, there was Siege, who seemed incapacitated as well, though that was rather a different situation..."

"I was going to say next to the sarcasm jar."

He gave him a dirty look, "The Sarcasm Jar isn't set up yet; kind of hard to have lost my cookie jar next to a future possibility... for now."

"Rings can be stolen and used, plus I have not gotten used to fighting wearing them."

He grinned slyly, "True enough, perhaps a piercing... I'm sure you'd look great with a small silver earring, or perhaps you'd prefer something more exotic, like a nipple ring or somesuch?"

"I really wanna know how those VA's do that." Serge said with an inquiring look about him.

"Something to talk to Jon about."

"Yeah that is a pass on that last one for me."
Bruce said and he grunted.
"I do not wish to use my Avatar, part of my brain or not as an attack dog."

He nodded, "The Core Wars are not for everyone; I myself am not going to get into one of those... I'd be worried about accidentally causing permanent harm."

[Abandoned Junkyard]

"Is that how you got the scars? Shit that must have hurt."
The young girl said and she looked shocked.
"That is how you became a mage? Damn!"

He shrugged, "Strictly speaking, I got the scars when a very good surgeon patched my face back together. And yes, it was... quite painful. And rather fortunately unique; most who Awaken spontaneously do so under great stress, not necessarily on the brink of death."

"You have seen your wife far into the future? That is so cool!"
The girl exclaimed.
"What horrors is it that you have seen?"

He frowned, "A battle, where corrupted Magi flung great destructive spells at machine men, and sprouted extra... organs and extremities, tentacles from their eye sockets, and so on, before everything turned white in a great explosion... that was unpleasant. And there was the vision of flying into combat against a giant lump of semisentient, heavily armed rotting flesh, the size of a Star Destroyer; those great polyps are quite a horror to behold..."

"This is acceptable."
The large spirit said and he laid down again to rest. You saw Karin talking with some of the other residents trying to talk them into moving back into one corner of the junkyard, safely out of the way.

He nodded in satisfaction and let Karin work in peace, and headed over to Bruce, mentally preparing to do some quick and dirty enchanting, "The Genius Loci has noticed you; he goes by the name Bobby. Friendly chap, really; doesn't mind you working here. How goes the framework?"

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

Colin smiled wryly, "I'll make sure to have an assortment of peg legs and hook hands ready for you, just in case..."

"I've always wanted to be a pirate...."

"I'd rather not imagine you being set on fire...but I meant rather they might have some ideas for you to hone your mind magick skills. As for your wonderland, I will be sure not to eat any tiny cakes or drink any potions..."

"Hmmm. I guess I could try. Wouldn't hurt to ask."

He nodded, "We'll see what I can show you. How are you with manipulating chance and raw Quintessence?"

"Terrible at the first and no clue how to do the second." Serge said.

"Roman," he corrected. "Sergius is Latin."

He pondered, "I suppose 'Sergios' would sound more Greek... Don't know what the Greek for 'Hunter' would be, though. Adley?"

"Huh, I thought it was greek. I guess I was thinking on similar lines to Perseus." Serge said evenly.

"To keep your moths and pocket lint in? It seems similar to mine, thin and mostly for show."

"If moths flew out of my wallet I'd have a whole new set of concerns besides it being empty." Serge said with a smile.

He shook his head, "You do realize that risking your life before you can even try to mess with Adley's head is a really bad bet to begin with, whatever the odds?"

"But the risk is what makes it fun. The constant suspense of whether I die or not. Will I chicken out in the last moment? Is it really worth it? Am I insane or have I performed some secret magick to turn the odds in my favor? Who knows! Tune in next time."

"There is a rumor that some Verbena can do that, turn themselves into a ball of flame. I think it is less flames that Akashics would be against though Serge and more turning their art into a Hollywood stereotype."
Bruce said and he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. That is the exact reason why she hated it. That and the paradox." Serge confirmed.

"Something to talk to Jon about."

"Yeah that is a pass on that last one for me."
Bruce said and he grunted.
"I do not wish to use my Avatar, part of my brain or not as an attack dog."

He nodded, "The Core Wars are not for everyone; I myself am not going to get into one of those... I'd be worried about accidentally causing permanent harm."

"You guys are no fun." Serge said jokingly. "I'd do it in a heartbeat. If only I was a little better at computers."

[Going to the Library]

"Well I guess if the spell is just a fantasy and nothing you plan on doing in real life, then that is another matter, but it is a little hard to know when you do not seperate between talking about what you would like to do in real life and what you discuss as a fantasy."
Kyle said.
"But just as a fantasy I guess the spell is fine."

"I mean. I consider fantasy and reality mostly as the same thing. Two sides of the same coin and all that. I'm still gonna use it in real life. Just not in a situation where it'll matter. It'll mostly just for fun."

"Anna is Fallen I think that Mr Wainwright think it will be good for both her and me to have someone to talk with who are in the same boat."
The young widderslainte said an smiled.

"Yeah she's fallen as well." Serge confirmed. "You can talk to Mr. Wainwright about that. He'll probably agree with your sentiments."

"Broad strokes are what will get someone killed in your scenario, broad strokes might reduce the luck of your enemy or increase your luck, but the rest is up to reality, and you will have no control over what accident might befall them, now this is useful in a fight, when running from someone for example and you know they want to kill you or worse it do not matter if they get hurt in the process, but the rote you describe require allot more than broad strokes."
Kyle said and he shook his head.

"Guess I can't speak too much until I've actually learned more about this stuff." Serge said waving the manipulation of fate book in front of Kyle. "But from what I've learned it should be possible. It's not just a simple luck increase or decrease. It's increasing the probability of certain scenarios or desired outcomes. A coin flipping heads 5 times in a row or just straight up landing on neither side and stuff like that. But I could be just speaking nonsense so who knows."

"Hey I like you Serge, you are my friend and I do not want to say anything to you to insult you or anything, I know you are not stupid."
Kyle said then he sigh.
"But I know that if I had called potential opponents mooks my dad would have whipped me bloody and for a good reason, you see when you call your enemies mooks and such it is far easier to just harm them and think nothing of it, they are not people, they are mooks, and somewhere in that we loose our humanity. It is the same as how many in USA are ok with the prison population getting tortured, raped and beaten or they are just criminals, not human, not like you or me, just criminals, it is the same thing."
The young boy said in a serious tone of voice.
"I hate to sound so much like a Hermetic but words matters."

"...I didn't realize how strongly you felt about it. Sorry about that." Serge said after a small pause, his apology seeming genuine. "I'll try to stop doing that in the future."

[Serge's Adventure]

As Nicole put the coat on she do get harder to notice, normally she sort of stand out like a sore thumb in most situation but with that coat she was just sort of there and easy to miss and somehow harder to see, though not invisible.

"Fuck, this is the exact sort of thing I've always wanted to create, just in coat form." Serge said with a smile, clearly enjoying the coats effects. Although, since his full attention never left Nicole it was hard to tell if it had effected him at all. "Mind if I try it on?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

He frowned, "Well, bugger, I knew there was something I overlooked. Oh, well, I'll have to reconsider, then..."

"Did I poke a hole in your Master plan Colin?"
Bruce asked and he grinned.

He nodded, "Not to mention there'll be less chance of polarizing the Cabal over a few points in a game."

"No we would not want that to happen, then again I do not think we will be that petty."
The other Orphan said.

He grinned slyly, "True enough, perhaps a piercing... I'm sure you'd look great with a small silver earring, or perhaps you'd prefer something more exotic, like a nipple ring or somesuch?"

"Piercings can be stolen as well it just hurts more."
Bruce commented dryly.

He nodded, "The Core Wars are not for everyone; I myself am not going to get into one of those... I'd be worried about accidentally causing permanent harm."

"Yeah for me it seams like a epically bad idea but I guess that if the Adepts regularly Gilgulled thelseves there would be less of them."
Bruce said and frowned.
"I wonder if Jon have ever done a duel like that."

"Huh. That is the exact reason why she hated it. That and the paradox." Serge confirmed.

"Hum...thought so."
Bruce said as he regarded you.
"Not everything fit into your TV show stereotypes you know."

"You guys are no fun." Serge said jokingly. "I'd do it in a heartbeat. If only I was a little better at computers."

"You would stuff your Avatar into a computer program and set it to fight for you in a duel?"
Bruce said and he raised an eyebrow.
"Well I have to admit kid that takes some balls."

[Abandoned Junkyard]

He shrugged, "Strictly speaking, I got the scars when a very good surgeon patched my face back together. And yes, it was... quite painful. And rather fortunately unique; most who Awaken spontaneously do so under great stress, not necessarily on the brink of death."

"That must have been horrible, did you have to stay in a hospital long? Staying in a hospital is really boring."
The young woman said and she sigh.
"I am glad not all mages have to go though things like that."

He frowned, "A battle, where corrupted Magi flung great destructive spells at machine men, and sprouted extra... organs and extremities, tentacles from their eye sockets, and so on, before everything turned white in a great explosion... that was unpleasant. And there was the vision of flying into combat against a giant lump of semisentient, heavily armed rotting flesh, the size of a Star Destroyer; those great polyps are quite a horror to behold..."

"Well shit, that must have been some vision."
Karin said her eyes wide.
"What are Great Polyps? What are any of the things you spoke about?"

He nodded in satisfaction and let Karin work in peace, and headed over to Bruce, mentally preparing to do some quick and dirty enchanting, "The Genius Loci has noticed you; he goes by the name Bobby. Friendly chap, really; doesn't mind you working here. How goes the framework?"

Bruce looked up and removed his goggles and held out three pairs of rough frames for glasses made out steel wire.
"Will these do?"
She asked.
"Hum...Bobby the spirit is it? Well I am glad he approve of me, is he going to be a problem when we deal with the vampires, that might be a bigger question."

[Going to the Library]

"I mean. I consider fantasy and reality mostly as the same thing. Two sides of the same coin and all that. I'm still gonna use it in real life. Just not in a situation where it'll matter. It'll mostly just for fun."

"I see, well it makes things a little harder for the rest of us to understand."
Kyle said and he nodded.

"Yeah she's fallen as well." Serge confirmed. "You can talk to Mr. Wainwright about that. He'll probably agree with your sentiments."

"I will talk with Mr Wainwright later."
Kyle agreed.
"Well it will be nice to have someone aroun who understand."

"Guess I can't speak too much until I've actually learned more about this stuff." Serge said waving the manipulation of fate book in front of Kyle. "But from what I've learned it should be possible. It's not just a simple luck increase or decrease. It's increasing the probability of certain scenarios or desired outcomes. A coin flipping heads 5 times in a row or just straight up landing on neither side and stuff like that. But I could be just speaking nonsense so who knows."

"Yeah it is possible, absolutely possible it it is more advanced."
Kyle said then he smiled.
"Well then again I do not know the limits of your abilities though Serge."

"...I didn't realize how strongly you felt about it. Sorry about that." Serge said after a small pause, his apology seeming genuine. "I'll try to stop doing that in the future."

"Yeah sorry, I should not have reacted as strongly."
Kyle said apologetically.
"Tell you what we ave chosen some books, what if we register that we are borrowing them and then go up to my apartment, I can make some hot cocoa, I made some for my brother last night and he seamed to like it."
The boy offered.
"And talk of other things."

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